IZMIR
NATO Allied Land Commander General Frederick Ben Hodges referred to North Atlantic Council's (NAC) decision to deploy Patriot air-defense systems in Turkey against possible attacks from Syria and said that the decision showed they would not let Syria to threaten Turkey's sovereignty.
Hodges assessed the decision of NAC and informed AA about the deployment process.
Hodges stated that the Patriot defense system would assure protection and security of the people of Turkey and added that the decision showed the commitment of the 28 member countries of the alliance to their words against threats.
Moreover Hodges noted that as Turkey was part of NATO, they made a decision to protect one of their member country which was under threat and said, "There is a clear message that with this decision we tell Syria that we will not let them to threaten Turkey's sovereignty."
He mentioned NAC's works and stated that necessary political decisions were taken and preparations were on full speed.
Upon a question about how long it would take for the deployment of the Patriot missiles, he said, "Germany, Holland and the U.S. have Patriots. It is not sure for now but the system will be obtained from one of these countries or from a couple of them. These are large systems. They will be brought to Turkey via ships and they will be uploaded to ships in a few weeks. I cannot give you a specific date about the deployment of Patriots but it will be shorter than what most of the people expect. Because previously, with the positive possibility of the decision, there were preparations made, the system will be in Turkey sooner than expected."
There is no doubt about Syria's having chemical weapons
Ben Hodges on Wednesday said that there was no doubt about Syria's having chemical weapons.
Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA), General Hodges underlined that "if for some reason Syria decided to use missiles with chemical heads, patriot missiles had the ability to render the Syrian missiles ineffective."
"Syria's possessing chemical weapons is an undeniable reality. The international community, however, is highly sensitive on the matter," General Hodges said.
"The international community has underlined that they would not tolerate any regime that utilizes chemical weapons regardless of who they target," General Hodges said.
"The patriot system is completely for defensive purposes," he also said.
Reporting by Senem Yazici
